Feature
40 fatalities and rising
why Safe Work at Height Safety should be your number one priority
The vast majority of FMs will be well versed in regulations governing Working at Height, so why are fatal falls from height increasing? Here Ken Diable, Founder and Managing Director of Heightsafe considers the need for regulation and culture to work together to reduce the levels of devastating, preventable fatalities.
In July the HSE published its annual workplace fatality figures showing that deaths due to falls from height have risen 11% in the last five years, up 14% from last year. In 2018/19, 40 fatal injuries to workers were due to falls from a height. Falls from height continue to be the
biggest workplace killer. Putting aside statistics for a moment,
what these figures really mean is that 40 people have lost their lives, 40 families are grieving and 40 organisations are dealing with the devastating personal and professional consequences of losing a colleague in circumstances that were more than likely, preventable. That is potentially hundreds of lives irreversibly damaged by one potentially preventable incident. Despite efforts from government,
regulators and charities to draw attention to the deadly risks that poor Working at Height practices pose, there are still strongly embedded attitudinal and cultural issues in some of the most dangerous sectors, such as construction and agriculture. As the HSE states, with maintenance
workers “often using access equipment to reach roofs, gutters, building services, and raised sections of plant and machinery, it can be all too easy to fall from these positions,
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at Height practices. While communication campaigns are important in encouraging proactive safety cultures, does this go far enough, or is it time to have a frank discussion about the need for stricter legislation around Working at Height? As a responsible person, if you are in any
Ken Diable.
or to drop things onto people beneath.” It’s highly likely that these fatalities touched FM’s and their teams. It’s even more likely that non-fatal but serious injuries as a result of preventable falls from height have already impacted FM professionals, or will do in the near future.
Communication or regulation?
Earlier this year the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)’s report on Working at Height described how improving communication around existing regulation, advice and best practices could help mitigate poor Working
doubt of the competency of personnel to undertake their duties safely when Working at Height, relying on optimism that ‘it’ll be fine’ is severely misguided. Similarly, in our experience, it often takes a near-miss for organisational leaders to sit up and take action. In the aftermath they will often seek to blame those ‘in charge’ of works – Facilities Managers, and Health and Safety colleagues, rather than looking more widely at the top-down culture and investment. We must not forget that Facilities Manages
can be dealing with a raft of risks at any one time. Where they do lose focus on the basics, it isn’t necessarily their fault. Rather, it may be a symptom of a wider organisational culture that places deadlines and budget above and beyond preparedness and leadership accountability.
What will stronger Work at Height regulation achieve?
Where such culture exists, there are several
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